Governor makes case for $6B water bond

Calling a $11 billion measure headed to voters in November a “pork-laden water bond on the ballot,” Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday issued an open letter calling for a more modest proposal at nearly half the price.

On his campaign website, the governor said his $6 billion plan“provides for water use efficiency and recycling, effective groundwater management and added storage.”

In response, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins of San Diego raised concerns that the pared-down proposal “would ultimately be too small to meet the state’s dire needs.”

Lawmakers are scrambling this week to cut a deal on a multifaceted water bond, a major component of which is protection work on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The governor’s $6 billion plan purports to stay neutral on the controversial Delta tunnels project. But curiously, that project, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, relies on funding its restoration portion with up to $4 billion from an unspecified state bond, according to the California Natural Resources Agency.